If you were so lucky to be able to select your last meal…what’s your play? My top choices go in many directions, but near the very top ranks something involving fresh Monterey Bay Dungeness crab—a multicheese bacon-crab melt on sourdough, perhaps.
With each passing year, that already hypothetical scenario feels more fantastical, as local crab season shrinks.
Déjà vu, then, all over again: Last week the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the statewide commercial opener of the upcoming Dungeness crab season has been delayed until at least Jan. 1, 2026.
The delay honors new regulations which delay the opener until the following year if three or more humpback whales are confirmed entangled in crab gear in a given calendar year.
However, you could say some good news has surfaced.
Last spring represents the most successful trial yet of pop-up fishing gear (aka called “ropeless” or “on-demand”) on the West Coast.
The technology avoids the lingering vertical lines that whales encounter, and proved profitable on top of safe, with 12 commercial Dungeness crab fishermen from Morro Bay to Crescent City hauling in $1.4 million of crab.
While plenty of fishermen fear they’ll be forced to adopt expensive ropeless tools, gear prices are dropping, and it’s nice to have alternatives if we like eating crab and cultivating a sustainable fishery.
“There’s not a lot of good news stories for the ocean environment these days,” says pop-up advocate and Oceana Senior Scientist Dr. Geoff Shester, “but a few years ago [pop-ups] were considered science fiction.”
He adds “not a single string of fishing gear was lost.”
“This world-class testing proves once again that this innovative fishing gear is successful, profitable, enforceable, whale-safe,” he says, “and ready to restore a vibrant spring crab fishery.” oceana.org/WhaleSafeOceans
DOUBLE SHOT
Max Turigliatto reports jazzy, classy and tasty Alley Oop Cocktail Lounge is making “slow but sure” progress, but still avoids throwing out even a conservative open date because he “doesn’t want to jinx it.” (I get that. He was originally hoping to open in 2024.) Meanwhile, his other spot, Mission West Bar (2405 Mission St., Santa Cruz)—one of the more character-rich, old-school and all-around classic dive bars in the area—remains a Westside institution. For Halloween (Friday, Oct. 31), Mission West hosts 5+ hours of costume partying, live music and DJ action. Space Heater plays, food and drink deals proliferate, DJ Kikkoman turntables and Duhran Wilson trumpets, $10 cover. missionwestbar.com.
SNAP RESPONSE
On Friday, California Attorney Rob Bonta co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins flagging the damage a potential lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the month of November would inflict on the 5.5 million Californians who use SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families. “Every American—Democrat, Republican, and Independent—should be outraged,” Bonta says. oag.ca.gov.
QUICK SIPS
Savvy sommelier Ryan Cooley opened Vin Vivant (115 San Jose Ave G, Capitola) in August with fellow somm John Haffey, Michelin Guide’s 2023 California Sommelier Award Winner; now Cooley’s partnering with The Power Plant and chef Todd Williamson on a wine bar-food truck operation they’re calling The Food Lab (7990 Highway 1, Moss Landing), and the fish tacos, burgers and soft-shell crab sandwiches are well worth a pilgrimage, instagram.com/thelanding.ml, vinvivantcapitola.com…The 46th annual EcoFarm Conference cometh Jan. 21-24, 2026, to Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, eco-farm.org…Good Times Best Of Santa Cruz 2026 nominations have commenced and the window remains open through Sunday, Nov. 16, with the vote following from Dec. 15 on, goodtimes.sc/best-of-ballot…Playwright George Bernard Shaw, draw the curtain: “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”
